Magical March 18
Warrior Princess
Mark A Davis
329
"No," said Lakshmi. "Absolutely not.
Icarus stared at Lakshmi from across the table. The two former angels and current agents for the pro-magical girl entity known as Nibiru were seated in a North Carolina diner. Icarus was a handsome young man dressed a bit too much like a rock star, with a leather jacket, silk shirt open down the front, and leather pants. His counterpart Lakshmi had long pink hair, which did not exactly earn fewer sidelong glances from the regular patrons.
"You're only saying that because you haven't really given it any thought," said Icarus. "I mean, just imagine it...."
"No," Lakshmi replied. "No, no, no, no. Also: No!" She was busy sketching in her virtual computer pad as her southwestern omelette grew cold.
"Elsa controls ice," said Icarus. "Rapunzel has magical hair...."
"If you had paid any attention to the movie," said Lakshmi, "then you would know that Rapunzel's magical hair has been cut off. Also: NO!"
"Moana can control water," said Icarus. "Sort of, after a fashion, and there's Mereda with her bow and arrows, she's basically Hawkeye, and Mulan is a trained warrior...."
"No," said Lakshmi. "A thousand times no!"
"But the Magical March theme for day 18 is Disney," Icarus said. "We have to do it!"
"No we don't," Lakshmi replied. She waved her hand, and her artpad momentarily vanished. She glared across the table. "You can whine and complain all you want, Icarus, but we are not going to form another magical girl group...."
"But... a Magical Princess Avengers team!" he exclaimed. "It's perfect! It would be so awesome!"
"However awesome it might be," Lakshmi said, returning to her drawing, "it's not happening. Managing an entire team is too much work. Look, Sita just finished assembling a team which she is the adviser for, Octava and Daesdamona are still struggling with their own team...."
"Exactly!" Icarus exclaimed. "Now it's our turn!"
"No!" Lakshmi said forcefully. "How many times do I have to say it? We are not creating a whole third magical girl team -- we have too many other obligations."
"If we combine several themes," said Icarus. "We eliminate those other obligations. That's what Sita and Octava and Daesdamona have done. We kill two birds with one stone. Or three birds, or four...."
Lakshmi made a face. "Do not speak of killing birds while I create a Snow White magical girl," she said. "Birds are her friends."
"You're working on Snow White?" Icarus asked, perking up.
"Yes. You will not find a more iconic Disney princess on which to base a magical girl. She's the first of them, she has a look that's unmistakable, with the short bobbed black hair, the red hair bow, the yellow dress and the blue bodice with those puffed sleeves with red cutouts... you can merely suggest some of that with the appropriate colors and a similar sleeve and neckline -- say a short skirt in yellow with lolita petticoats, a laced-up bodice of blue with those classic Snow White sleeves -- and people automatically think: Snow White! Very simple to do."
"And you call her... what?" he asked. "Magical Princess Snow White?"
"Something a little more complex than that," said Lakshmi. "Something a little less obvious, a little less straightforward, like...."
"Mahou Shoujo Snow White?"
"No...."
"Pretty Soldier Snow White?"
"No...."
"La mujer lanco como la nieve?"
Lakshmi glared at Icarus.
"Snow White, Monster Slayer?" he suggested.
"Now you're just trying to troll me," she said.
Icarus shrugged. "I kind of like Snow White, Monster Slayer," he said. "Anyway, sounds good. It's a start. Then tomorrow is fairy tale, and that dovetails perfectly with a Disney theme. Every Disney princess is based on one. Snow White is a fairy tale princess, Beauty is a fairy tale princess...."
"We are not doing a full team," Lakshmi said again. "End. Of. Discussion."
"But...."
"Listen to me," said Lakshmi. "Today I am designing a Disney-themed magical girl. Tomorrow we can decide what a fairy tale-themed magical girl might look like. I am not designing a team of magical girls. Not now, not tomorrow, not next week. Understand?"
***
In a forest clearing, a girl with dark skin grasped a sword with a golden hilt. She was lifted up into the air and spun about. Her clothing seemed to melt and reform into new attire -- blue leather boots that laced to the knee; a short skirt that fanned out sharply from the waist, thanks to thick petticoats; a blue bodice that laced tightly up the front, with puffed sleeves, slashed to show red beneath a la the Disney version of Snow White.
The girl landed, sword still in hand. She aimed it at an evil-looking creature creature made entirely of black armor, with a red glow emanating from the helm and shining between the armor pieces. "Know, Sir Knight," she said, "that you now face Snow White, Warrior Princess! I shall protect the people of this land!"
From under a nearby bush, Lakshmi and Icarus watched -- a pure white cat and a winged tabby cat.
"I'm glad I talked you into a dark-skinned Snow White," Icarus said. "The white in Snow White need not refer to her skin."
"Well, technically the tale specifies skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony," Lakshmi said. "But for a take the Disney version, I feel we don't need to follow the pattern of the story...."
As the girl engaged the spectral knight in combat, Icarus said, "You know, there are two Snow White fairy tales. In the other, she has a sister named Rose Red...."
"No," Lakshmi said. "No team."
"Not a team," said Icarus. "Just a duo."
"No."
FINI
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